South American Designer Potatoes

[Note: Rejected for publication by AgraFood Latin
America monthly magazine, published in Tunbridge Wells, UK. See
also Interview with Father re Potato
Salad (Krznaric and Krznaric, 2001).]

Introduction

Of the seven species of cultivated (Solanum) potatoes, only the
Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum) is known worldwide. Yet
there are other less-known species native to the Andes which are
now being saved and promoted by the Lima-based International Potato
Centre (CIP). Maintaining the world's largest bank of potato germplasms,
the CIP has around 1500 samples of 100 wild species from eight Latin
American countries and 3800 traditional Andean cultivated potatoes.
Nine of the Andean native species have particular potential for
consumption and export outside Peru's rural subsistence economy:
achira, ahipa, arracacha, maca, mashua, mauka, oca, ulluco and yacón.

Neglected crops

These
nine species, often known as Andean Root and Tuber Crops (ARTC), have been ignored
for centuries except by poor Andean farmers, while the potato has become the
fourth most important food crop in the world. There are a number of reasons
that explain their marginal status. When the Spanish conquered Peru in the sixteenth
century they largely destroyed the highly-developed Inca agricultural systems.
Traditional crops, which had been cultivated for thousands of years, were replaced
by European species such as wheat, barley and carrots, which the conquerors
demanded be grown. This forced at least a dozen native root crops, grains, legumes,
and fruits into obscurity. Solanum tuberosum was saved, being a useful
food for slaves in Spanish silver mines, and later for workers in Europe's industrial
revolution.

In modern times the minor crops continue to be ignored in agricultural
research in developed countries, so that there is little information
on their germplasm. Production constraints have included long crop
duration, narrow ecological requirements, short shelf-life and poor
market quality. Additionally, in the Andes these species are often
denigrated as the inferior food of the indigenous population.

Basic attributes

Indigenous
people in Peru and other Andean countries, and now the CIP, have maintained
these nine alternative root crops. The table shows some basic information about
them. As can be seen, they are grown in three main ecological zones. Tubers
such as oca, ulluco and mashua have similarities to potatoes in terms of their
ecological requirements, cropping systems and uses. Because of their cold-tolerance
they are amongst the few crop possibilities at high altitudes, and are used
to complement diets of potato, barley, faba beans and chenopod grains. They
are usually cooked for their consumption due to their high starch content. In
contrast to these, arracacha, yacón and mauka cannot be propagated from the
edible root. Arracacha, achira and mauka require cooking while the sweet-tasting
yacón and ahipa can be eaten raw and function as fruits in rural diets.
Most ARTC do not suffer unduly from pests or disease, although oca crops are
prone to weevil, and arracacha to fungi, nematodes and acari. A more detailed
look at each type follows.

Table 1. Andean root and tuber
crops (ARTC): Basic attributes

Common name

Yield (T/ha)

Crop duration (months)

Users in Andes (millions)

Users outside Andes (millions)

Cool temperate (2500-4000m altitude)

Oca

10-40

6-9

15

<2

Ulluco

5-20

6-9

30

-

Mashua

30-60

6-9

<10

-

Subtropical (1000-2500m altitude)

Arracacha

12-16

10-14

30

>30

Yacón

40-60

10-12

<1

No data

Achira

30-80

10-12

<1

>50

Mauka

20-50

12-18

<1

-

Ahipa

30-50

5-10

<1

-

Puna or cold-steppe (4000-4500m
altitude)

Maca

10-15

8-9

<1

-

Source: Andean roots
and tubers at the crossroads, M. Herman and J. Heller, Institute
of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK)

Potential uses

Achira:
This is a highly adaptable crop grown from sea level up to 2000m, usually in
isolated patches in orchards or small fields. With 27% dry matter, under 1%
protein and 24% carbohydrate, its sugar content varies depending on how long
it has been stored. Because of its sweetness, achira is normally stewed or roasted
as a desert, and is also used as a food for babies and the elderly. In Colombia
biscuits made from achira are popular, and in Vietnam its starch is used for
making high-quality noodles. One of its limitations is the long cooking time.

Arracacha: Grown between 1000m and 3100m, particularly in
the more humid valleys from Bolivia to Colombia, Arracacha is often
grown underneath coffee plants or with maize and beans. It is related
to celery and carrot, with dry matter, protein and carbohydrate
ratios similar to the achira, in addition to containing substantial
amounts of vitamin A. Arracacha is used to flavour anything from
soups to deserts and in Brazil is used as a thickener in instant
soup and in baby food formulas (successfully marketed by the private
sector). The stems can also be used in salad or as a cooked vegetable.
This is a particularly good high-value cash crop for poor farmers.
Unfortunately it has a very short shelf-life and must reach consumers
within one week.

Ahipa: This is not normally grown in fields on its own,
and is usually found in family orchards. Like YacÃ³n it has
a high water content and is a good source of potassium and vitamin
C. Ahipa is usually boiled (though it can be eaten raw as snacks
and in salad) and can be used as a substitute for cassava. Higher
in protein content that most other ARTCs, it is also possible that
the toxic content of its leaves and stems could make it a successful
natural insecticide.

Maca: This root likes very cold climates with adequate moisture,
and is found only in Peru, including at levels of over 4000m. With
a high protein content of around 15%, maca is also reputed to have
fertility-enhancing qualities, and is used as an energiser and anti-stress
agent. It is boiled in water then mixed with fruit juice or milk
to make a thick broth. Maca is marketed as a nutrient supplement
in a dehydrated and ground form in capsules.

Mashua: Like ulluco and oca, mashua is intercropped with
other plants, and can be found from northern Argentina to Colombia.
It is extremely popular in Colombia, partly because of its strong
resistance to pests and disease, and due to yields often being as
high as 70 tonne/ha; it is planted around fields in the belief that
it will repel potato pests. Mashua is commonly used in food and
folk medicine. Men often avoid eating it due to its reputation as
an antiaphrodisiac. In Bolivia and Peru the tuber is left outside
overnight and eating the next day with honey.

Mauka:
Almost no scientific studies have been carried out on this crop, and it was
first discovered and described by scientists only in 1965. Few fields of mauka
are left in existence, and it can be found it Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. High
in calcium and phosphorus, it is eaten either salty or sweet. To eat mauka
sweet it is placed in the ground for a week to concentrate the sugar in the
roots; the salty version is simply boiled without the outer crust.

Oca: Because of its high yield and good taste (in addition
to low inputs), Oca is frequently used in Andean rural cuisine,
and it also grown in Venezuela, Argentina and Chile. Oca has a high
water content (around 80%) and is often fed to children, and used
in soups and stews. It can also be dehydrated and used as flour.
Experiments have shown that it could take the place of wheat flour
in the preparation of bread.

Ulluco: This is grown in scattered areas from Venezuela
to Argentina, but likes soil that is rich in organic matter. Ulluco
has over 75% water content, 10-14% carbohydrate and is rich in vitamin
C. Both the flesh and leaves (similar to spinach leaves) can be
used in cooking. It is the most commercially viable and widely grown
of these nine Andean root and tuber crops.

Yacón: The yacón is distantly related to the
sunflower and grows from Argentina to Venezuela, in addition to
having been introduced in Japan. It is almost 90% water and contains
a fructose (inulin) that could be a sugar substitute for diabetics
or dieters. Very popular in festivities in the Peruvian town of
Cuzco, like ahipa it can be eaten without cooking. Yacón
slices retain their crunchiness when cooked and have potential for
use in Asian cooking.

Conclusion

The International Potato Centre's efforts to promote these nine
alternative crops may help Peru's poor farmers find niche markets
for their produce. Yet the battle against the potato will be a long
one. While there is potential for the marketing of these 'designer
potatoes' (as has been shown in Japan and New Zealand) the legacy
of 500 years of neglect will not be easily overcome. Thus the CIP's
support for new methods of propagating potatoes remains important
in the Andean countries.

[Roman Krznaric talking by phone to his father, noted potato salad
expert Peter Krznaric, across the Atlantic Ocean, and possibly several
other oceans. 3 August 2001. See also Krznaric's banned masterpiece
South American Designer Potatoes.]

R: Now I've got something serious to ask you.

P: Yes, go on.

R: I'm thinking of giving a talk to some friends about potato salad.

P: Oh god! How serious is that? [laughs]

R: So I need to ask you some questions about potato salad.

P: You absolutely may do so.

R: OK, now the first question is this: When did you first make
potato salad yourself?

P: [Pause] I suppose in '54, '55 I suppose. Round about there,
when Dad came over. See, when I was on my own I used to live at
the hospital [fades]...Dad arrived in April '55 or May or something
like that and that's when I started making it.

R: And how, how did you know how to make it?

P: Well, I think, I think Dad knew how, he'd remembered some of
the stuff and we, I suppose, we looked up some sort of recipe, which
included incidentally, originally, we used to make it with apple,
you know -- half an apple. Or put a bit of kielbasa in it, or put
a bit of herring in it.

R: Really? [incredulity]

P: Yeah.

R: I never knew about the herring or kielbasa.

P: Yes, we used to do it, but then you have to eat it the same
day. You can only make enough for one sitting type sort of thing.
Now you can put a little bit of herring in it, or you can put in
a bit of kielbasa, you know the typical stuff with garlic -- garlic
kielbasa, you know, to cut just a little bit, not very much, just
a wee bit.

R: And then how did it develop, your potato salad?

P: Then, as you grew, your taste was changing and it became...you
had different potato salads from different people. And I seem to
recall when we used to go to Sima [...] she used to make those terrible
things with lots and lots of mayonnaise and lots and lots of eggs.
But we always had cucumber and potato...sometimes you used to put
in onion as well, you know, the red onion. You see, when you put
those sort of things in they don't keep, you can't keep it. If you
put onion in it you have to eat it immediately. So it's better just
to have cucumber, egg, potato, and, and a little bit of apple.

R: And what are the tricks to dealing with the potatoes?

P: Not to overcook them, I suppose that's the most important thing,
and normally you'd have potatoes that are coming out of the jacket,
not peeled potatoes [...] I used to put red capsicum in there to
make it look nice [...] and make your own mayonnaise -- which is
most probably better than the stuff you can buy anyway [...]

Comments

Name

Subject

Comment

21 March 2006 10:47:34Helmut Kartoffel

Somewhat related to this theme, new research reveals that when Leonardo Da Vinci was an apprentice in the studio of Verrocchio in Florence, his first sculptural work was a crucifixion carved out of a giant potato. Astonishingly, this was BEFORE the potato was brought from the New World to Europe. The sculpture is now lost.Herr Dr Helmut Kartoffel

20 March 2006 19:18:13Renfield Christendom

The 10,000 year old 'mother of all potatoes' theory is pure bunk. God made all the potato varieties we now know from wheat dust approximately two hundred years ago.

20 March 2006 13:52:32Helmut Kartoffel

I would like to thank Dr Krznaric for the reference from Kew Magazine. A most important article that should be better known. It is indeed a privilege to have the esteemed Dr Krznaric contributing to this discussion. His work on the sociology and pyschology of potatoes is highly respected.
Herr Dr Helmut Kartoffel
Professor of Culinary Anthropology
Heidelburg University
Germany

20 March 2006 13:22:52Roman Krznaric

A most excellent question from Deila. Some insights into this matter appear in a short article in the latest edition of 'Kew Magazine' (the magazine of the Royal Horticultural Society's Royal Botanical Garden at Kew, London). The article is entitled 'The Mother of All Potatoes'. The article discusses recent DNA analysis that shows that all the hundreds of varieties of potatoes that we know and love today are actually all decendents of a single potato grown in Peru some 5000-10000 years ago. This potato is the aforementioned 'mother of all potatoes'. Propagation of this particular potato has changed societies and economies around the world. Of course, propagation of this holy potato required human intervention so that its seed could produce new generations of potatoes. I have it on poor authority that there is a church just outside Cuzco in which there are two portraits displayed above the altar. One is of the Virgin Mary. The other is of the Mother of All Potatoes.
With best wishes,
Dr Roman Krznaric

16 March 2006 19:35:16abby

hi della

Hang on a minute, I will write to Dr Krznaric and see if he'll weigh in on this one, if he's not off fomenting potato-based revolution somewhere.